Adelia's Story
by LittleCharlieIvashkov
Summary: This is the story a young witch named Adelia who has originally come to Camelot in search of information but ends up playing a major part in the story of Merlin. She will face many challenges to help Merlin protect Arthur and the land of Albion, finding family, friendship and eventual romance along the way. Set between series 1 and 2 but will progress throughout all other 5 series.
1. The Journey

**Hi! This is my Merlin story where I have made my own character and fit her into Merlin. The first chapters are set between series 1 and 2 but it will keep progressing through all of the series. Some of the chapters will be my own but mostly I will have changed an original episode if I want my character to play a part in it. If I do that then the name of the episode and the episode number with be at the top of the chapter. To do this I will have to watch each episode of Merlin very carefully but I'm not complaining. If you have any ideas of episodes I could fit my character into, just let me know. I will probably be doing most of the episode as I have already decided I'm doing 9 out of 13 in the second series.**

**There is a few things in my story(other than what my character does) that I will be changing. Gwaine doesn't die and Arthur doesn't die. I'm not sure if I want to kill Morgana or not. I will decide when I get to it. There will probably be other things I will change but I will figure that out along the way. Gwen isn't going to marry Arthur. As much as I love them and I'm sure you do to, I have a friend who has made a character and has something planned for her and Arthur. Merlin will also have a twin sister named Aveline. Aveline is the character invented by one of my friends. She will be writing her own story about her. I don't know what her username is yet but I will tell you once I find out.**

**Once I have gone through all 5 series, I will still continue but with my own stuff. I also will be adding in a couple of other side characters. Could you please review and if there is something you want to criticise me on then please do. Be as harsh as you want. I won't be offended. I also suck at trying to summarise stories so please read the rest of the chapter. So I hope you like my story and please review!**

"_Ha. Very funny."_

"_It's true."_

"_Yeah right. Do you really expect me to believe this?"_

"_Yes, I do."_

"_Then you really don't know me. And I don't think you're the smartest either."_

"_Hey. Don't try and insult me. It won't work. How do you explain the looks? If you don't believe me, let's go ask him."_

"_I doubt he will talk to you."_

"_Yes he will. And that will be the first piece of evidence that I'm telling the truth."_

"_Fine then. Let's go."_

"_Later. He's busy right now."_

"_Uh-huh. He's 'busy' right now."_

My eyes fluttered open as the daylight poured into the house through the window. Ugh. Another dream. I had been having a lot of dreams about Camelot lately. They were _so_ irritating. It was early morning and the people of Ealdor were just starting to rise. I groaned, wanting to stay here for another couple of days. I didn't like the idea that in a day, I would be doing what I have been dreading. It was so peaceful in Ealdor and it was full of nice people but I decided I had better get on with my journey. Eventually, I managed to drag myself out of bed.

I was staying in Ealdor for couple of days while I made my way to Camelot. A woman, Hunnith, let me stay in her home with her and her daughter, Aveline. I had heard a lot about Hunnith's son so I came to find her when I arrived and she was kind enough to let me stay for a while. She actually wanted me to stay longer. I was excited to meet her son. But that wasn't the reason I was heading to Camelot.

Hunnith was already up, making some food. Things had gotten a lot better since Camelot had helped them with their food problems. Aveline wasn't around. She must have gone hunting.

"Ah, good morning, Adelia," she said as she saw I was awake.

I smiled at her. "Morning," I said, way too cheerily for morning. Once I actually manage to get out of bed, I'm always so upbeat and chatty. It usually gets on people nerves.

She laughed. "Always so lively once you get up. Come and have some breakfast." She beckoned me to sit down at the table. I bounced over to her and sat down.

"How are you doing?" I said as I began to eat.

"I'm good. You?"

"I'm alright. A little nervous about going to Camelot." After some though, I had decided to tell her and Aveline why I was going there.

"Aw, don't worry. You'll be fine," She reassured me.

"Thanks." I smiled at her but I knew I _wouldn't_ be fine.

Are you leaving today?" she asked.

"Yes. I should be in Camelot by tomorrow," I replied.

She sighed. "Are you sure you don't want to stay another day? You could help Aveline hunt?"

I considered it. "No." I paused. I was about to change my mind but I decided against it. "I must get going."

I gave her my empty bowl and got ready to leave, packing up my things and brushing my long golden brown hair into its normal style (twisted over my shoulder). I stood at the door and said goodbye to Hunnith.

"Aw, bye, Adelia," she said. "Try and see if you can visit sometime."

"I will," I told her. "And thanks for letting me stay."

"It was nothing. Have I good journey."

"Bye." I swung bag over my shoulder and made sure I had my sword. I saw Aveline on my way out.

"Hi Adelia." Aveline was Merlin's twin sister. I'd never actually met Merlin but I'd heard a lot about him (or 'Emrys') from the druids. She smiled at me. "Leaving after taking advantage of our humble hospitality, are we? And here I was hoping we could talk magic."

"Sorry, I need to leave. You should come to Camelot some time. I'm sure you'd be much more interested when you're talking to your brother."

"I know but I think I should stay here for now. Tell him I'll visit soon. To cause more trouble than there already is," she smirked with a mischievous glint in her fiery brown eyes.

"Ok. How was your hunting trip?"

"It was very mountainous today. Lots of rock and hillside.

"A simple 'good' would have been enough," I told her. I am very open with my opinions. _Very_ open. I'd better be careful in Camelot or I'll end up being banished from deeply insulting a royal.

"Hey, while you're in Camelot, why don't you see if you can talk to King Arnold?"

"It's Arthur and he's not the king yet. It's Uther."

"What's an uther?"

I rolled my eyes but I could understand where she was coming from. "It's not _an_ Uther. It's _King _Uther. You need to learn this stuff."

"Oh. Well then, talk to Prince Arthur and King Luther." Aveline didn't know much about royals. Her logic was, the less she knew about them, the less they knew about me and the less chance she had of getting her head chopped off.

I laughed. "Ok then. Bye. I'll see you again, hopefully." I walked off towards the stables, waving.

As I was leaving, I ran into Juliana. She was a young woman I had met in Ealdor. I had quickly come to trust her and had told her why I was going to Camelot as well. She had been very supporting and had given me tips on how to deal with my problem. That's the type of person she is. Just caring and wants to be helpful and never wants to be mean. Unlike me. "Hey. I'm glad I caught you before you left."

"Hey, I've been looking for you. I'm just about to leave but you should come to Camelot with me. I'm sure you could get a job somewhere." Wow, how many people have I told to come to Camelot? There would be a whole flock bursting through the gates if I wasn't careful.

"The only job I would get would be one as a maid," she said. "No one can be anything in Camelot unless you're a royal.

"I guess you're right. Will you be ok?" She was mostly on her own out here except for her brother, George, who was very ill at the moment."

"I'll be fine,"

I smiled. "Are you sure? You can come with me if you want. I'm sure the physician will help your brother.

"No, I need to stay. But I might visit Camelot sometime, to see you."

"That'd be great," I said, not faking my enthusiasm. If I ended up staying in Camelot, it would be good to have a friend with me.

"I think so to. If you're lucky, I _might_ stay in Camelot longer if I decide to visit. So bye. Have fun, good luck and don't get your head chopped of.

I laughed. "See you soon. Bye." I went off into the stables. I mounted my gorgeous chestnut brown horse. I'd named her Latney as a funny pronunciation of 'Lightning' because of her eyes. They were navy blue with a yellow streak down the middle, looking like lightning through the night sky. I took a deep breath and headed to the woods leading to Camelot. Behind me, I heard Juliana call out "Don't get burned at the stake either!"

"I won't," I called back. At least I _hoped_ I wouldn't

I mounted my gorgeous chestnut brown horse. I'd named her Latney as a funny pronunciation of 'Lightning' because of her eyes. They were navy blue with a yellow streak down the middle, looking like lightning through the night sky. I took a deep breath and headed to the woods leading to Camelot.

It was a long ride of trekking through the woods. I could barely see because the tall trees were blocking most of the light. At about midday, I stopped for something to eat and used a thick tree for sword practice. I don't want to sound too arrogant but I was a brilliant swordsman. Or rather swords_woman_. I'd only brought a few of my possessions with me. My sword, clothes, crossbow and spell books. Of course, I'd have to hide my spell books when I got to Camelot. If I was staying, which I hoped I was.

I set of again and spent the rest of the journey deciding what I was going to do when I got to Camelot. I knew I defiantly wanted to meet him but I'm not too sure what my reaction would be. Was I going to forgive him, or kill him?

Hours later, I settled by a tree and set a fire going. I went to go hunt a couple of small animals to cook. After I ate, I was rummaging through my bag and found a small statue of a mini bird. I looked at it and said the words of one of my favourite spells "Bebiede be arisan cwicum." I waited for a few seconds staring at the statue when it started to move. A gorgeous mix of maya blue and snow white spread through the bird's now silky feathers. It gave a small, high pitched chirp and I smiled as it took off and flew gracefully through the trees.

Not long after, the fire was dying out and my good mood and my brain were drifting off into a deep sleep. I was still debating what I was going to do. I replayed my own words a million times before I fell asleep. Forgive him, or kill him? Forgive him, or kill him? Forgive him, or kill him?

I found myself in a dream. In Camelot.

_I wandered around Camelot, spotting a young man training on his own with a sword._

"_Arthur?" I said as I walked up to him._

_He turned round as I spoke and frowned. He didn't know me but recognised me. "Are you-?"_

_I cut him off. "No."_

"_But you look so much like-"_

"_I know. I'm not. I'm Adelia. I'll explain this later. There's something I want to ask you first."_

"_Ok, what's on your mind?" he said._

"_How about a sword fight?"_

_My question was answered with a lot of ear-splitting laughter. "Are you serious?" He said between breaths._

_I raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you think? 50 gold coins?"_

_Once he realised I was serious, he laughed even harder._

_I gave him an evil glare with my ice blue eyes which made him flinch. I had a scary stare. He didn't think I could beat him. Why? Because I was a girl? I'll show him. I raised my sword and swung._

I woke up just as the sun rising. It took me a few minutes to remember where I was and why. Blinking in the sunlight, I could see Camelot in the near distance. It wouldn't take me long to get there.

It was only a few hours later when Latney was trotting up to the gate. Soon, I was passing the walls of Camelot. I didn't stop to talk to anyone and just marched right up to the council chamber. It took me a while to actually _find_ the place but I did eventually. Before I reached the doors, they opened and a young woman walked out.

At this point I did stop. I stared at her and she was staring back. I knew who she was but I doubted she knew who I really was. She wouldn't have remembered me. We were so young the last time I'd seen her. She probably just had a feeling about me. That and the fact that we look kind of similar. They only reason I knew her was because my mother had told me all about her before she died. I looked at her for a second longer as I racked my brain for her name. Morgana. That was it. I shook my head and kept walking. I could deal with her later.

I burst right through the doors, despite the fact that the guards were trying to stop me. I slammed the doors behind me and stood there, staring at him. I was glad that he was the only one in the room. He looked up at my entrance and froze. He had never met me but he could tell instantly who I was.

"Adelia?" My name came out as a question even though he knew he was right. Did he know that I knew?

I still hadn't decided what I was going to do yet. So I simply smiled at him. I smiled at Uther Pendragon and calmly said, "Hello, father."


	2. A Day in Camelot

There was silence. I looked at Uther expectantly. "How are you?" I asked politely. He, however, seemed to be lost for words. I finally dropped my smile. "Alright, let's just skip all of this small talk. I don't think I have to tell you why I'm here or why I want to kill right here on the spot. So, explain."

It took all of my self-control not to lunge at the king with my sword. Somehow, I managed to keep my cool. Calling him 'father' still felt strange, especially out loud. I had only found out a week ago, just before my mother had died.

By the look on his face, I could tell that he did not realise that I knew. The look of panic also made me assume that he hadn't told Morgana that she had a twin sister or that he was our father. I doubted she knew about out half-sister, Morgause, either.

Eventually, Uther snapped out of his shock. "How… how did you know about this?"

I started to smile again. "Isn't it obvious? My mother told me. Now," I drew my sword, "tell me why I was taken away from Camelot." I said, threateningly. "Please." Well, you have to have manners.

"Adelia," he started slowly. "It…it wasn't my decision."

I scoffed. What a ridiculous excuse. "Of course it was. You make all of the decisions around here. Why did you keep Morgana as your loving ward but I got sent away."

"I had no part to play in this," Uther said. "Once I gave you over to Gorlois-"

"You _gave_ me to Gorlois?" He really isn't doing well here. Only making me angrier.

"Yes. I didn't want to. Look, I have a very important council meeting soon. So can we talk about it later?

I didn't say anything. I simply glared at him. It was a look that said, "No, we most certainly cannot talk about this later."

He sighed. "Ok, how about this. You can stay in Camelot and I'll put you in one of the guest chambers for a few days. I'll call you in to talk later."

He was trying to act as if I was just another quest. As if he had nothing to say to me. As if he was completely innocent. I closed my eyes and sighed. I didn't want to give in. I was probably the most stubborn person ever. But then I realised something. I might have to leave straightaway if I discussed this with him now but I still wanted to talk to some other people. I might as well accept and go and find some of the other people I wanted to meet: Arthur, Morgana and Merlin. "Fine. Tell me where."

He gave me directions to one of the nicer chambers. He also offered me to have a servant take we there.

"No thanks," I told him. Years of living alone had made me very independent. I also hated the way he used servants.

I was about to leave when he spoke again, "Adelia? Do not tell Morgana about this."

I gave him a fake smile. "Of course I won't." That was a lie. Of course I will.

Ten minutes later, I was wandering the grounds of Camelot, in search of my first victim. Well, not victim. I just wanted a simple chat with all of these people.

Arthur was training on his own, exactly as he was in my dream the night before. Of course it was. It was part of my 'gifts'. I think I was called a seer. My words were exactly the same as well.

"Arthur?" I said as I walked up to him.

He turned round as I spoke and frowned. He didn't know me but recognised me. It took me a while to figure out why but then I realised it was because he thought I was Morgana. "Are you-?"

I cut him off, knowing what he was going to say. "No."

"But you look so much like-"

"I know. I'm not. I'm Adelia. I'll explain this later. There's something I want to ask you first."

"Ok, what's on your mind?" he asked.

I smiled. This would be fun. "How about a sword fight?"

My question was answered with a lot of ear-splitting laughter. "Are you serious? He said between breaths.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you think? 50 gold coins?"

Once he realised I was serious, he laughed even harder.

I gave him an evil glare with my ice blue eyes, which made him flinch. I had a scary stare. He didn't think I could beat him. Why? Because I was a girl? I'll show him. I raised my sword and swung.

Arthur barely had time to block me with his own sword. I pulled away and made another swing, which he only narrowly avoided. He wasn't laughing anymore. This went on for a sort while longer until I managed to knock him on to the ground. I had to give him some credit, he was doing well. But unfortunately for him, he couldn't beat me. He was lying on his back and I pointed my sword to his chest. He made a few attempts to get away but once he realised it was hopeless, he sagged in defeat.

"I win," I said, pulling my sword away. This allowed him to sit up but he made no effort to get on his feet.

"How…how…how did you…what the hell?" Oh now, this was fun.

"I'm good, aren't I?" I grinned. It was one of the best sights I'd ever seen, him looking up at me with a bewildered face.

Arthur looked around him to make sure no one saw him lose to a girl. "That. Was. Humiliating." He looked at me and suddenly remembered something. "You! Morgana! How?"

I sighed. Alright. Explanation time. I sat down next to him and began to recite my story about how I was Morgana's sister and I was sent away from Camelot at birth…blah, blah, blah. I won't bore you with the details of this story because it's not that interesting. But there is one thing I didn't tell Arthur. Well, two if you count my magic. I never told him about Uther being the father of Morgana and me. I decided that it would be best if no one knew that yet. Besides, I wanted to hurt Uther, not Arthur or Morgana. His reaction to my story was exactly what I expected. He didn't believe it.

"Ha. Very funny," he said with disbelief. He didn't think I was really Morgana's twin.

"It's true," I found myself saying. Just like the other dream. Oh, they were _really_ bugging me now.

"Yeah right. Do you really expect me to believe this?"

No, not really. "Yes, I do."

"Then you really don't know me. And I don't think you're the smartest either."

"Hey. Don't try to insult me. It won't work. How do you explain the looks?" Of course, he _couldn't_ explain how we looked the same. "If you don't believe me, let's go ask him." I didn't have to explain that 'him' meant Uther.

"I doubt he will talk to you."

"Yes he will. And that will be the first piece of evidence that I'm telling the truth." I stood up.

"Fine then. Let's go."

I was about to say yes bit then I remembered he had a council meeting. Not that that would have stopped me but I still wanted to talk to Morgana and Merlin. I might not get another chance. "Later. He's busy right now."

"Uh-huh. He's 'busy' right now."

"I don't like your tone of voice, young man," I said, like a mother telling off her son.

"You can't talk to the Prince of Camelot like that," he said, managing to stand up.

"Of course I can. I think you're a-" I only just stopped myself from insulting him. Just in case I did it again, I walked away from him, leaving him completely dumbstruck.

I wandered around the inside of the castle now. Morgana's chambers. Morgana's chambers. Where was Morgana's chambers?

I asked a passing maid if she could tell me where it was.

"Of course. I'm her maid so I'm heading there now. Come with me," she said kindly. We started walking. "You know, you look an awful lot like her."

I nodded. I had a feeling I would be hearing a lot of that today.

"Yes. I'm sure Morgana will explain it to you later. If she believes me. I'm Adelia."

She smiled at me. "I'm Guinevere. Or Gwen."

"Hey Guinevere or Gwen."

She laughed. "It's Gwen. So what brings you to Camelot?"

I needed to talk to some people. Morgana, Uther, Arthur and Merlin. I've already spoken to Arthur and have half spoken to Uther."

"Why?" she wondered.

"Long story," I replied. "Morgana will tell you."

"So she knows what this is about?" Gwen asked as we reached a small spiral staircase.

I shook my head. "No. Not yet."

We reached Morgana's chambers. Gwen opened the door a waited for me to follow her. I took a deep breath before doing so. Inside, I saw Morgana standing at the far side of the room, looking out of the window.

"Morgana?" I asked tentatively.

"Hi Gwen," she assumed, beginning to turn away from the window. "How are-oh." She froze, looking at me. "Who...em. Who are you?" She studied me, trying to figure out if I was really there. Or if I was some weird hair colour changing mirror.

"I'm Adelia." I sat down on a chair and motioned to her to join me. I probably should have let her do that herself seeing as it was her chambers, but I didn't care. Gwen placed some folded clothes on the bed and tactfully left the room. I didn't have a problem with her knowing. She seemed nice and all but I'm glad she left. It would be better if Morgana and me could have this conversation alone. Morgana could tell Gwen later.

Morgana hesitated before sitting down. She was looking at me in an odd way, probably trying to figure out if she knew me. "Do I know you?"

"In a way," I told her. She frowned so I expanded on my statement. "We knew each other as babies, you probably wouldn't remember." I waited for her to nod before continuing. Again, I won't tell you the details of our conversation. Only that I never told her about Uther being our father. Also, I don't know if it was just a feeling she had or because she couldn't think of another explanation, but she believed it a lot more than Arthur did. I still don't think Arthur had believed it.

I finished my story and sat for a while not saying anything, waiting for it to sink in.

"Ok," Morgana said slowly. "So basically, I have a twin. And no one ever told me this? And I have been lied to for years?"

Ok. Maybe this wasn't going to be easy. And I really didn't feel like explaining this to her again. I sighed. "Look, I've got to go. Just talk to Uther about this. He'll tell you it's true." I wasn't sure about that but I really didn't want to waste my time trying to convince her. I walked quickly out of her chambers without looking back. Ok. One person left. I went back to my own chambers first, to get my spell books. I took me a while to figure out how I was going to hide them while going down the corridors. I eventually remembered a spell I could use, and then I set of the physician's place.

On my way, I passed the council chambers. People were spilling out and I assumed the meeting was over. I also saw Morgana and Arthur talking frantically amongst themselves. They were probably going to see Uther to find out if it was all true or not. I wondered if he would tell them I was or if he would just lie. Aw well. I'll deal with Uther later.

After a lot of wandering around, I found myself in front of Gaius' chambers. I opened the door slowly but there was no one in. At least, I couldn't _see_ anyone. I could, however, hear someone talking in the small room at the other side of the room. I listened closely and heard a young man saying strange words I recognised as spells. That must be Merlin. I heard him beginning to leave and I frantically dived behind a bookshelf. I'm not too sure why seeing as I wanted him to see me so I could talk to him. He came down the small set of steps and crossed to room.

I was about to run out and stop him leaving when a thought came to my head. Crouching down, I slowly whispered "Emrys."

Merlin's head whipped round to the direction of my voice. I did it again, this time moving quietly to another bookshelf. He turned to face the voice again but I had already run to hide under a table. "Emrys," I said again, this time without whispering but I used a different, higher voice.

"Who's there?" he asked the room. What an idiot. Doesn't he know you're never supposed to say 'who's there' in these kind of situations? I looked up above Merlin's head and saw a pot hanging there. Very quietly, so he wouldn't hear me, I whispered, "Ic babiede feale." The pot dropped and only narrowly missed his head. While he was looking at it, I ran forward and stood in the middle of the room so it looked like I had simply appeared out of thin air.

He turned round and jumped backwards when he saw me. I laughed at him.

He gave a sigh of relief. "Morgana," he said through breaths. "You gave me a fright."

"Morgana?" I said, as though I had never heard of her before. Unlike Arthur, Merlin hadn't noticed that I'm not her. Can't he see my hair?

"Yeah. Morgan-" he stopped and looked at me again. "You're not Morgana."

I scoffed. "Well, aren't you observant."

"So if you aren't Morgana-"

"Clearly."

"Who are you?"

I smiled at him. "Adelia. Morgana's twin."

Merlin looked puzzled. "Morgana doesn't have a twin."

"And how would you know? Uther has kept this all a secret."

"No he hasn't."

Ugh. He was going to be questioning everything I said. "So Uther tells you everything?"

"No," he said and I looked at him triumphantly. "But he tells Gaius everything and Gaius would have told me."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes," he said but he didn't look sure. "And I'll ask him as soon as he gets here." Right on cue, the door opened and an old man walked in. Gaius. "Gaius," Merlin said, relieved.

"Hello Merlin," he said. He turned round and found me. I could tell instantly that he knew who I was.

"Gaius," Merlin said. "This person is trying to tell me she is Morgana's twin but Morgana doesn't have a twin, right?

Gaius opened him mouth but no sound came out. We both looked at him expectantly.

When he eventually managed to speak, his words were completely useless. "I…I em…I forgot my herbs." He quickly left the room

I turned to Merlin. "See? He clearly knew."

It took a little while longer until he nodded and said, "Ok. I believe you. But why did you tell _me_ this?"

"Because I wanted to talk to you about something and I knew you were going to ask questions so I told you."

"Right," He nodded slowly. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

I looked around the room and my eyes rested on a lit candle. "Sceawere, folge min bebod." The candle raised into the air and I guided in front of Merlin's face. "Magic."

He was shocked. "You…have magic?"

"Yes. So do you. I heard about you from the druids. Emrys."

"You've talked to the druids."

"Yes. They've told me all about what you are supposed to do. Apparently I've got some role to play in that. The druids call me Val'hallia."

"Val'hallia," his voice wandered off. It took quite a while to convince him I was telling the truth (again) but soon we found ourselves sitting on the floor, discussing magic.

"You know, I met you're sister in Ealdor," I told him.

"Really? How is she?"

"Good. She says she might visit soon."

Merlin groaned and I laughed at him. We talked a while longer and he was just about to teach me a really complicated spell when a curly haired night entered the room.

"Adelia?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"The king requests you're presence in the council chambers."

Uh-oh. I have to talk to Uther. I followed the knight out of the room. On the way, I started chatting to him randomly. The knight (I found out his name was Sir Leon) didn't seem too impressed with me. Rude. I am an absolute delight.

We reached the council chambers and I waved to Sir Leon. "Leon, mate. It was great talking to you." He didn't say anything and just walked away but I thought I seen a smile on his lips as he left. It's good to make them laugh.

I calmed myself and opened the doors. Uther was sitting in at the top of the long rectangular table in the middle of the room.

"Adelia," he said calmly. "Come and join me." He indicated the seat next to him and I sat down. Seeing him again brought back the anger that had left me whilst talking to Merlin. He didn't look too happy with me either. I realised it was probably because I had told Morgana and Arthur. He looked up at me sternly. "You told them."

"Yeah, sor- yeah." I almost said 'sorry' but I managed to stop myself. I wasn't going to apologise to this pathetic excuse for a man. "But I never told them you were our father. Only that I am her twin and you are a complete and utter ass. Did you tell them I was telling the truth?"

"Yes I did. I am sorry Adelia. But like I said before, I had no choice."

I scoffed.

"It's true. You were in danger. I sent you away for your own safety."

It took a few hours of him talking before we reached a moral decision.

"Ok," he said. "How about this. You stay in Camelot. I will title you as my second ward. You don't have to forgive me but at least stay here.

Hmm. I considered it. I hadn't forgiven him. Not at all. But I realised I had been exaggerating with that 'forgive him, or kill him' thing. I didn't have to forgive him. I didn't have to kill him either. I could just continue on living in Camelot but still hating him. Plus, I get free luxuries. Free food. People would call me 'Lady Adelia'. I looked up at Uther. "I'm in."

A week later, I was standing at the front of the throne room with Uther, looking at a crowd of people. I could see Arthur and Morgana standing at the front of the crowd. Standing to the side was Merlin, smiling at me. I smiled back. I had managed to speak to him again and I was really enjoying our talks about magic. I had learned so much. I zoned out as Uther explained to the crowd who I was. He told them all he was making me his other ward. After a while, I tuned back in to hear him say, "I present to you: Lady Adelia!"


	3. The Nightmare Begins

**Hey! New chapter, finally. I'm posting this about two months later than I had intended, but I've had stuff to do. My next one should hopefully be quicker, but it still might take a while. Exams are a busy time. The next chapter should be the very next episode: Lancelot and Guinevere.** **Read, enjoy and please god review. It would really help.**

It has been a couple of months since I had been named as Uther's ward. I had now started to become a common face around Camelot and I had gained a lot of respect. I had also learned that it is impossible to avoid trouble here. So far, since I've been here, Camelot has been under attack by a bunch of stone gargoyle things brought to life by a guy possessed by a dead guy's soul. A tournament has also been hosted here, where Arthur had disguised himself using a farmer to pretend to be in the tournament so that he could compete but no one knew who he was and then an assassin guy attacked him. Life in Camelot was such fun.

Everyone else seemed to be warming to me. I had become good friends with Merlin and I had been learning a _lot_ of magic from him. Morgana had started to enjoy the fact that she has a sister here with her. Arthur is still a bit irritated with me ever since I bet him in a sword fight but even he had grown more comfortable around me. I had also started to talk to Gwen a bit and Sir Leon had been enjoying my company. The only person who doesn't seem to like me being here was my dear old father. He did not like me at all. It was clear he cared about me not nearly as much he did Morgana. Oh well. I don't care about him either.

It was late and I was sitting on my bed, studying spells as I heard Gwen walking past. She must have been going home for the night. Uther had given me chambers close to Morgana's, near the bottom of the steps. My room was just as big as hers but not nearly as nice. Of course.

I was beginning to fall asleep. The candle next to my bed barely lit up the words on the page. My eyes were starting to close but then I was jolted awake at the sound of thunder. A moment later, I heard a scream from Morgana's chambers, followed by the smashing of glass.

I ran outside my room and up the steps with Gwen right behind me. We burst through the door. Morgana was sitting up in bed with a look of fear on her face. There were also flames spreading across the room. I had to stop myself from screaming too. I grabbed Morgana and pulled her out if the room, away from the fire. The three of us tumbled down the stairs.

"Both of you stay here and don't go back in there," Gwen said, trying to sound calm. "I'll go get the King and then some water." She rushed off.

"What happened?" I asked her.

"I…I…" that was all she could get out.

"Morgana." I looked at her sternly. "What happened?"

She looked at me. Could she trust me? "It was the candle, it…it lit itself. I…I don't know what happened I…" she paused and looked around before she spoke in a whisper. "I think I did it."

"What?" I tried to make a convincing shocked face, which wasn't that hard to do. I'm an excellent liar. So, Morgana had finally discovered her magic. I knew it was only a matter of time. I knew it must have been soon, though. She had told me about her dreams. I had never told her about _my_ dreams or my magic. I don't know what it was, but there was something off about her. "What do you mean _you_ did it?" I paused and made a startling look of realisation. "You mean _magic_?"

Morgana was in panic. "I don't know, I don't know. I…I think it was. I just looked at the candle and it…it lit. It then just grew higher until it was setting the curtains on fire. I don't know what to do. If Uther finds out I've got magic…he'll have me executed."

"No he won't," I told her reassuringly. "You're not even sure it _is_ magic. I'm sure there is a very reasonable explanation for this. OK?"

She nodded, looking fractionally better. I wanted to talk with her more about this but the king was rushing down the corridor, with Arthur, Merlin and Gwen at his heels.

Merlin and Gwen were carrying two large buckets of water each. They both ran up to Morgana's chambers to put out the fire.

Uther ran towards Morgana, cupping her face in his hands. "Morgana. What happened? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. The curtain caught fire."

Not long after, Uther, Arthur, Merlin, Gwen and I were all crowded into Morgana's cambers. Uther examined the charred curtains as Merlin cleaned up the shattered glass.

"I came back in with some extra blankets," Gwen was saying. "There was a candle but I put it out."

"Are you sure?" Uther asked her, sternly.

Arthur then jumped in on Gwen's behalf. "Gwen has been Morgana's servant for years. If she said she blew it out, I believe her."

She smiled at him gratefully. I had noticed straight away their feelings for each other. It must be like some strange like a gift I have or something(other than magic and telling the future). I can always tell as soon as it happens.

"She could've been burnt alive," Uther worried.

"Lightning struck the castle roof last night, that could've started the fire," Arthur suggested.

"Perhaps."

Arthur looked confused. "What other explanation is there?"

Uther looked like he knew the answer from the start. "Someone started the fire deliberately."

"Why would someone want to do that?" I asked, even though I knew why the fire started

"I don't know," Uther said, determinedly, "but I will find out soon enough. Arthur. Come with me."

They left the room. Curious, I followed. Uther was sure that someone was trying to harm Morgana. "How did they reach Morgana's chambers unchallenged?"

"I don't know. There are too many guards. It shouldn't be possible." Arthur didn't find it likely that she had been attacked.

"And yet they managed to do so," Uther said, angrily.

"I can't explain it."

"Well I can. They used magic. Arrest all those we have under suspicion."

Arthur sighed. "That's gonna to take time."

Uther stopped in his tracks and turned round sharply to face Arthur. "My ward had been attacked. Time is something we do not have." He walked off, away from his son.

"Arthur," I called over to him.

He turned at the sound of my voice. "So you heard that, then?"

"Of course I did. I hear everything. So, do you think he's right? Do you think someone tried to attack Morgana with magic?"

He frowned for a moment. "I don't know. I defiantly think he is over reacting with the magic thing. Something goes wrong and that's the first conclusion he comes to. I think there is a possibility she has been attacked but I'm sure there are plenty other explanations for the fire."

Like Morgana becoming a witch but can't control her powers? "I think so too. Have you tried to talk to her?"

"No. She seems to be in too much distress."

"I'll try." I walked away from him. I had no idea where Morgana was so I headed back to her chambers, hoping Gwen could tell me where she was. On the way, I bumped into Merlin. "Hey. Have you seen Morgana?"

He nodded, looking flustered. "Yes. She was just talking to Gaius." I started to turn away before he called me back. "Wait! She was talking to him about the fire. She thinks…" he lowered his voice. "She thinks _she_ started it. With _magic_."

"Yeah, I know."

"What? How? Did she tell you about it?"

"Yes, but I knew before that as well."

"Again I must ask. How?"

"I don't know. I just did. Anyway, it's not _that_ crazy a theory when you think about it. I mean, _I_ have magic so it's only logical that my sister would too."

He didn't want to believe it but he knew I was right. "Ok," he said. "I'm going to go talk to Gaius and see what he says. I come and find you later."

We parted ways and I headed back to my chambers. I was trying to decide whether it was a good thing or not that Morgana had discovered her magic. I guess it just depend on how she acts on this. I would hope she would do what I had done but I had a feeling that wasn't going to happen. When I had discovered _my_ magic, I had my mother there to explain everything properly so I wasn't as freaked out and distressed as Morgana is now. I sat down on my bed, waiting for Merlin. I waited for _ages_ and began to get very restless and impatient. Night was beginning to fall when I eventually gave up and went to go find him myself.

I headed to Gaius's chambers. Just before I reached the door, Morgana came out quickly. I ducked behind a stone pillar so she wouldn't see me. From inside, I heard Merlin call, "Morgana! Morgana! Wait!" But Morgana didn't wait. She just kept walking away, looking as though she was about to cry. Just as I was about to run forward into the chambers, Merlin also emerged.

"Merlin," I called, before he could get away.

He turned towards me. "Yeah?"

"What did you find out," I asked curiously.

"Well, I think she should go talk to the druids."

The druids? That doesn't seem like the best idea. "And how are you going to find them?"

"I'm going to ask the dragon." He ran off.

"The drago- ugh." I followed him.

I didn't know we were going but I trusted that Merlin did. We entered a small passage that led into an underground cave. On the way, Merlin picked up a lit torch to light up the path in front of us. We came to a clearing and the path the stopped. On the rocky ground over the gap, there lay a large sleeping dragon. He raised his head at our approach.

"Hello young warlock. And young witch."

I had never met him before but seeing as he pretty much knows everything, I didn't question how he knew me.

Merlin looked up at him. "We need your help. Do you know where the druids are?" I still didn't totally agree with this idea. How was she going to get to them, anyway? Was she going to create an excuse to leave on her own, or take off without telling anyone?

"First, you must tell me why you seek them." The dragon can talk? Should I have known that?

"That doesn't matter."

"It does to me." Ugh. This guy was annoying.

"I need to ask them something," Merlin said.

"I have lived for more than a thousand years, seen civilisations rise and fall. Do not believe that you can lie to me."

"I need their help." The dragon gave him a look that clearly said 'I don't believe that'. Merlin sighed. "Someone I care about needs there help."

"You speak of the witch, the Lady Morgana."

"She's not a witch. She's my friend."

"She cannot be trusted." Why the hell not?

"What makes you say that?" Merlin asked, wondering the same thing as me.

"It would be better if the witch-"

"Stop calling her that!" Merlin yelled. I had no idea why it was insulting. I'm a witch and I don't care if someone calls me that. Well, unless they are accusing me of having magic in Camelot because then I would be killed.

"It would be better if the witch never knew the true extent of her powers."

"You're wrong. I know her. She has a good heart."

"You failed to heed my advice in the past and it brought grave consequences."

"I won't abandon her."

"I will not give you the advice you seek. If you peruse this course of action, you do so alone."

"Fine then," Merlin said firmly. "I will." We turned to leave. As I walked off ahead, I heard the dragon call Merlin back. I didn't go with him because I had a feeling I wasn't supposed to hear this so I hid behind the corner to eavesdrop.

"I must also warn you about the other witch to whom you have grown close to."

"Adelia? Why?" Me? What the hell have I done?

"I have heard stories that she will have a choice to turn against Camelot. Whether she decides to act upon it or not, is unclear. You must try to sway her onto the right path, or Albion will never be."

Merlin stood there for a moment before leaving.

"Hey, what did he want?" I asked, pretending I hadn't heard. I was so confused about what the dragon had said. I was never going to turn on Camelot.

He searched his brain for a cover up. "Oh, just…be careful. I warn you not to go through with this. Face the consequences. Blah, blah. Usual stuff."

That was so obviously fake but I let it slide. "Right then. How are we going to find the druids?"

He sighed. "I don't know. I'll figure it out."

I went back to my chambers and immediately fell asleep. I slept straight through the night and didn't wake up until mid-morning when there was a knock on my door.

"Hey Merlin," I said to him. "Any news on the druids?"

"I think so. I saw the list that Arthur has about all those suspected of magic. One of them, Forridel, was known to be consulting with the druids. She can tell us where they are."

"Right. And where does she live?" I asked

Merlin turned and walked off. "Follow."

I ran after him. We left the castle and moved down to the lower town. I froze, looking around. Several people were screaming and I saw many knights around, dragging struggling people out of their homes. Merlin and I ran up to a house and he whispered a spell. The door clicked and swung open. Quietly, we entered. We couldn't see anyone in the house, until someone pointed a sword at Merlin's back.

"Move and I kill you," said the woman.

"Forridel?" Merlin asked uncertainly, not moving.

Forridel lowered her sword and let us turn to face her. "Who are you?"

"There's no time to explain. We have to get out of here. The King's men are coming for you." Merlin said quickly. Forridel just gave him a funny look.

There suddenly came a loud pounding on the door "Open in the name of the King!"

Forridel looked panicked and followed us out the back door of the house. From around the corner, we watched the knights continuing to knock on the door.

"How did you know they were coming for me?" Forridel asked Merlin. She seemed to be ignoring me.

"I'm Prince Arthur's servant." Merlin replied.

"You took a great risk. Thank you," she said.

"I'm just sorry I couldn't help all of them."

"We'd better go," she turned to leave but Merlin stopped her.

"No, wait. I need your help. I'm looking for a way to contact the druids."

Forridel tried to look as though she had no idea what he was talking about. "I wouldn't know anything about them."

Obviously, Merlin could see right through it. "You don't need to lie to me."

"I'm not lying."

"Please. If it wasn't for me, you'd be under arrest. You know I'm not a spy for Uther. I'm a friend of the druids. I need to help."

For a few moments, she said nothing. But eventually, she gave in. "What do you want to know."

"Thank you," he said. "I need to know where they are. Where is there camp?"

"The Forest of Essetir."

The Forest of Essetir. Perfect. I've been to that forest about a million times. It isn't dangerous. Much.

Merlin nodded. "Thank you . Now go, before they find you."

Forridel thanked us then turned and ran off.

"Ok," I said. "Now we just have to tell Morgana."

"I'll do that. I pretend I'm delivering a sleeping draught from Gaius."

We said goodbye and I went of the training grounds, where I met up with Arthur. After a couple of hours of endlessly beating him in sword fights, I heard the warning bell sound.

We both froze. "Come on," Arthur cried out. We ran towards the castle. Arthur didn't know why the bell was sounding so he didn't know where to go. He ran in the direction of the council chambers, but I stopped him.

"Morgana's chambers," I told him, changing direction. I assumed Merlin had managed to get the information to Morgana and she had left to go to the Forest of Essetir. This also meant that she hadn't told anyone, apart from Merlin, that she was leaving so Uther would be tearing down the castle trying to find her.

A moment later, we were bursting through the doors to find Uther standing inside.

"What happened," Arthur demanded.

Uther looked up at us. "Morgana's gone. She's been kidnapped. Go talk to the guards, Arthur. See what they found out."

"Yes sire," Arthur said, leaving the room to talk to the guard standing outside. Luckily, it didn't take long so I didn't have to endure the uncomfortable silence with Uther for too long.

Arthur came back. "The guards have completed the castle. There's no trace of her."

"Encircle the city. No one gets in or out," Uther ordered.

Gaius then entered. "You sent for me, sire?"

"Yes. What time did you deliver the sleeping draught to Morgana?"

Gaius frowned. He didn't know Merlin had taken a potion to Morgana. "Well, I…"

Arthur spoke up. "The guards said that Merlin delivered it after she retired to her chambers."

"So she was safe them?" said the king.

"Well yes. I suppose she must have been," Gaius said.

"Thank you Gaius. You may go."

"Thank you, sire." Gaius bowed and left the room.

"I'll go talk to the knights," said Arthur, leaving the room.

"You really think she was kidnapped?" I asked Uther.

"She must have been. What else could it have been?"

"She could have just…left."

"And why would she do that. She has been kidnapped and I will stop and nothing to find her. I will execute all those we have suspected of being connected to sorcerers, unless she is found."

Uh oh. Maybe we should have thought this through before we told Morgana where the druids are. I left Morgana's chambers and made my way to Gaius's. Merlin opened the door immediately.

"We have to go and bring her back," he said. He had clearly been thinking the same as I had.

"Yes. Now?"

He lowered his voice. "No. I'll have to wait until Gaius is asleep so I can sneak out. I'll meet you at midnight." He told me where to meet him and I promised I would be there.

I spent the rest of the day going over some spell books, trying to find anything that could help us. I wondered about Morgana now and though about the druids. Had she managed to find them? What did they tell her? Did she have better attitude towards her magic? The thing I most worried about was if she was going to come back home. There wasn't any real reason why she wouldn't (besides the Uther hating magic thing) but still… I wonder what would happen if he killed all of those people. Answer? I would go crazy.

Midnight. Dark, cold corridors illuminated by short flickering flares of fiery flames lining the old, crumbling walls. Around the corner, Merlin was standing in the shadows. I silently crept up to him.  
"Hey," I whispered. I probably shouldn't have been standing right behind him or spoke with no warning as jumped five feet in to the air. I had to elbow him to stop him from letting out a loud girl-like scream. "Oi! Shut it."

"Sorry," he said in his normal voice volume.

"Shh," I hissed frantically. "If we get caught, it'll be your head being cut off. I ain't taking the blame."

He lowered his voice. "Alright, alright. Now, let's go get Morgana back. Come on." I followed him towards the opening to a dark tunnel. Two guards stood outside but Merlin quickly thought up a spell. "Forbearnan firgenholt." The torches hanging off the wall behind the suddenly lit up as the flames grew higher, licking the castle ceilings. The guards scattered, leaving a clear path. Me and Merlin scuttled off down the tunnel, reaching a large grate, blocking the path to the outside. Merlin brought another spell to his lips. "Tospringe." The grate flew backwards, being knocked off its hinges.

We clambered out into the cool fresh breeze of freedom. I glowered at him. "When do I get to blow something up?"

He smiled at me. "You don't. Now let's get to Morgana. We'll probably get there at about midday, it's not that far. We need to hurry because Uther and Arthur will notice this thing soon. Let's go."

He wandered off into the darkness. I followed him, not at all liking being bossed about, and called out to him. "Fine. But next time we find something we need to blow up, _I'm_ going to do it." I heard him chuckle. I ran to catch up. We walked and walked and talked and talked as we twisted our way past the towering trees.

As Merlin predicted, we reached the druid camp at midday. "Ok," he said. "We need to try and find Morgana as quickly as possible and try not to get noticed."

"Ok," I replied as we broke off to search different ends of the campsite. I approached the first tent I saw and cautiously peered inside. I saw a druid man, tall and bald, leaning over talking to our missing ward. Well. That was easy. I motioned for Merlin to join me and we both crouched down, listening to their conversation and hoping the man would leave soon so we could grab Morgana and get the hell out of here before Arthur comes snooping.

"What would you like to know?" the druid man was saying.

"Why I can see the future in my dreams," Morgana replied with a slight tremble in her voice. Even so, she looked more relaxed than she had done in days. "Why I'm able to start fires with my mind."

The man smiled at her. "People who are able to do this are few and far between. You have a gift."

"Is it magic?" There it was. The thing she was dreading.

"Of a kind, yes. But it will be many years before you're able to understand it fully, let alone use it. This isn't something to be afraid off."

Morgana scowled. "It is if you have Uther as your guardian. If he found out, he'd have me killed." I wasn't sure that was true. He would certainly have _me_ killed if he discovered _my_ magic. But Morgana? Probably not. He would defiantly feel differently towards her and maybe banish her, but not kill her.

"He won't," said the man

"But if he did-"

"We won't let that happen. You're safe here. You shouldn't be scared of Uther. You should pity him." Pity? Ha!

Morgana seemed to be thinking along the same lines as I was. "Pity? Why?"

"Because he is a broken man, consumed by fear. His hatred of magic has driven goodness from his heart." I didn't think Uther ever had goodness.

"I've always been taught that magic is evil, that it corrupts your soul."

"Uther told you this. Just because he decrees it, doesn't make it so. In time you will learn that magic isn't a dark art that must be shrouded in secrecy. It can be a force for good." On that note, the man stood up and slid backwards out of the tent in a very mysterious fashion. Merlin and I wasted no time and burst in through the other side.

Morgana gave a small shriek, but not one loud enough to attract any druids. "Adelia? Merlin? What the hell are you doing here?"

"To take you back to Camelot. Why else would we be here," I snapped. I never meant to sound so mean, but hey. Morgana looked slightly taken back.

"Well then I'm afraid you've had a wasted journey. I never going back."

Oh for the love of God. "Yes you are. I will…Merlin will… no, _I_ will drag you back if I have to. I'm probably stronger than Merlin."

Merlin gave me a small shove then turned to Morgana, using a much more soothing tone than I had. "You have come back."

"Why? You're the one who said I should seek out the druids."

"He never said you should stay there," I yelled. They ignored me. Charming.

"I never realised what the repercussions would be."

"What repercussions?" she asked.

I spoke up again. "Uther thinks you've been kidnapped."

I look of realisation, mixed in with a lot of panic spread across her face.

Merlin nodded. "He won't stop until your found. He's arrested dozens of people. He's going to execute them all."

Morgana began to get up but then stopped. "But…if I return the same fate awaits me."

"Uther doesn't need to know about this. Would we really tell anyone?"

"I'm sorry. I'm never going back. These are my people. They're like me. I don't feel so alone here. Do you understand?"

In that moment, I made a split second decision. "You're not alone back there." I raised a clenched fist to my mouth and whispered "Forbearnan." I stretched out my fist in front of her. For a moment she simply looked at me. I spun my hand round to face the sky and opened my palm, revealing a tall shimmering flame.

Morgana gave another scream and scurried backwards, looking terrified. "Wh-wha? M-magic? Y-y-you?"

"Yes. We can talk about this later. But right now we _really_ need to go," I said quickly. I could hear voices outside and guessed Arthur had arrived. Meanwhile, Merlin was looking at me as if I was crazy. I gave him a look, telling him not to tell her about _his_ magic.

Before Morgana could say another word, the bald druid man rushed back into the tent. "Morgana. We must go." He stopped in his tracks, spotting me and Merlin. "Who are you?"

I gave him a cheery smile. "Hiya mate. What's up?" Once I got a good look at his face, I remembered who he was. Aglain. I had met him when I visited the druids, right before I took off for Camelot. I was a little insulted that he'd forgotten who I was. How could you forget the wonderfulness that is me?

"It's alright," Morgana reassured him. "They're my friends. What's wrong?"

"Arthur and him men are coming. Your _friends_ have led him straight to us."

I elbowed Merlin. "Dammit. You were supposed to cover the trail." He ignored me.

He druid man help Morgana stand up and then supported her as they left the tent. Merlin and I followed and found the campsite in utter panic. A young boy dashed towards us to help Aglain. Oh my god. Mordred! He was so awesome! He was another one I had met. He barely spoke out loud. Just communicated telepathically. He was the first one who mentioned my future. The young boy turned to face us. He first looked at Merlin, assumingly saying something, then turned to me.

"Val'hallia. Hello." His voice echoed in my head.

Em? I tried my best to send the word "Hello," back, but by his expression, I could tell that all he was getting was me making a stupid face. Oh well.

Together, the five of us ran(well, Morgana was limping) off. From somewhere behind us, I heard Arthur's voice shouting, "this way!"

"We've got to keep moving," Aglain yelled.

"My leg, it's too painful," Morgana cried out, slowing down to lean on a rock.

"Ok," I said in a commanding voice. "Merlin will try to create a diversion."

"You can't," she whined.

"We'll carry on. It's Merlin's fault they're here! Let's go!"

"Oi!" Merlin protested.

I sighed. "Fine. If you're scared, I'll come with you." We headed back the way.

As we ran off, I heard Morgana shout, "I'll never forget this."

We ran a small distance before Merlin help out his arm to stop me. "Bene laeg-"

"BENE LAEG GESWEORC!" I bellowed. A large volume of fog appeared from nowhere and spread itself out, shielding us from view. I turned at Merlin with a triumphant look on my face. He, however, was not amused. "What?" I asked him. "I wanted to be the one to use a spell for once."

"Let's go," he yelled, grabbing my arm and dragging me away.

"There!" Arthur yelled as he spotted our figures running through the mist. Damn.

Merlin threw me over to a nearby tree, which was wide enough for me to hide behind, while he rolled under a big ass rock. Arthur and the knights ran right past me and jumped straight over Merlin's head. We ran in the opposite direction as we heard one of the knights cry, "We have the Lady Morgana." We stopped and I glanced at Merlin. I wasn't sure if I was happy or not that she had been found. I would say I was happy. Who knows what might have happened if she stayed with the druids. Plus, I need to explain about my magic. Why did I do that? I'm such an idiot. As we darted up a hill, the fog began to clear. Through the trees, Mordred appeared, running for his life. He didn't seem to be so lucky, however, because soon he was surrounded by three guards. I grimaced, not wanting him to be hurt. I was a sweet boy and-holy mother of god.

I watched as Mordred let out a loud scream, filled with magic. The guards were thrown back and lay in heaps on the grass, presumably dead. What was I saying about him being sweet?

Merlin, also shocked, tugged on my arm. "We need to get going. Arthur will be suspicious if he cannot find us."

The journey back was a lot quicker than the one there. Probably because we nicked some horses. We made it back in good time, only shortly after Arthur and the knights arrived. Immediately, I left Merlin and headed back to my chambers. Ok, so now I had to decide what I was going to tell Morgana.

Later in the day, I had it all planned out and left my chambers, to see Merlin coming down from the steps, having just seen Morgana himself. Arthur stepped out of the shadows and called to him. "This has to stop." Merlin whipped his head round. "The king would have your head if he found out, and there's no point denying it." Oh, this was funny. Arthur thought Merlin likes Morgana.

"Denying what?" asked Merlin, confused.

"You're affections for lady Morgana."

Merlin burst out laughing. "What?"

"Take some advice from someone who knows about women." Now it was my turn to start laughing. The both glanced in my direction.

Mirroring my thought, Merlin said, "Well if such a person existed, I would."

"Stick to girls who are more…how can I out it? On your level."

"Thanks."

"She can't be your friend, let alone anything else." At this point, I noticed Arthur looking away, his mind elsewhere. Of course. He was thinking about Gwen.

"Yeah, I know."

He snapped back . "You can't hide anything from me, Merlin."

"I wouldn't dream of it." He had really no idea, did he?"

Merlin gave me a small chuckle as I headed up to Morgana's chambers. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door.

It opened immediately. Morgana gave a sad smile, and let me in. "Hey," I said, trying to said cheery. I watched as she went to sit back down on her bed. "So…" my voice drifted off, my big magical speech drifting from my mind.

"So," she repeated.

Groping for words, I spoke the first thing that came to my head. "Yeah, ok. So, I have magic and you think it's a big deal and I didn't tell you about and you're a little freaked out at the moment. Am I right?"

She said nothing.

"I'll take that as a yes." I paused, waiting for her words.

Eventually, they came. "_Why_? Why didn't you say anything? You should have told me straight away. You should have told me the other night when I lit that candle with magic. But instead of reassuring me, you and Merlin made me go running off to the druids?" She was on the brink of yelling at this point. "Merlin. I take it _he_ knows about it. Who else knows? Gwen? Arthur? Gaius? I take it Uther doesn't know, does he?" Of course not otherwise you'd be dead. But I don't understand how you couldn't tell _me_. I'm your sister! So why didn't you tell me?!" Without waiting for an answer, she chucked a vase at my head. Quickly, I stopped it with a spell. Her eyes widened and she stared at me.

Ok then. I think I have made my point and it is clear that I am not wanted here. "Talk later, ok?" I said before escaping the room.

I ran back down the stairs and came to a stop in front of my door. Angrily, I thwacked my head against it. Not the best idea. I rubbed my head, my mind spinning. I would have to do a lot of fast thinking to fix this.

**There you go. Please review xxx.**


	4. Beauty and the Beast Part 1

**Hello again. Ok so it **_**did**_** take as long as last time to post this. I would say the next one will be quicker but I can't make any promises. Although there is a better chance now that it's the summer holidays and I have absolutely nothing to do. I skipped over the Lancelot and Guinevere episode because I didn't really see the point in writing it. All that would be different would be Adelia going with Arthur and Merlin to get Gwen. Here's the next chapter. The troll! Enjoy and please review. Any opinion, good or bad, is appreciated.**

"Adelia," came a soft voice from outside my door. Who dares awaken me this early?

"What," I growled back.

The slow knocking continues. "Adelia."

"What."

"Adelia."

"For the love of god." I got up, stumbled over to the door, and yanked it open in frustration. "What do you want?"

"Sorry," Morgana said sheepishly. "I just wanted to say thank you. For helping getting Gwen back. I know that if it wasn't for you, she, Arthur and Merlin would all be dead. So thank you."

"Mh-hm." I mumbled. I didn't care what she thought at the moment. I was angry with her for how she reacted towards my magic. Why couldn't she understand why I couldn't tell her? I wished I'd never told her in the first place. It would make things much less complicated. I started to shut the door but she put her hand in front.

"And…I'm sorry. For the stuff about-" she glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "magic. I shouldn't have reacted how I did. It was unfair of me to treat you like that. Can we…talk about it sometime? I'd really like you're advice."

"I-" I was shocked by her sudden change. Up until now, she had blatantly ignored my and went out of her way to pretend I wasn't in the room. Arthur and Gwen had grilled me about it several times, but got no answer. Only Merlin knew. "Sure," I said, a little taken back at how relieved I was. Although I had only known her a few weeks, I loved my sister and hated when she was mad at me. Sometimes, though, I am just about to go and try to talk to her, when I am reminded of the words said by the dragon. Morgana wasn't evil. She was never going to turn evil. What did that stupid beats know, anyway? He thought _I_ was going to turn on Camelot. That is utterly ridiculous. "I'd love that."

She smiled at me. "Ok, great. Oh, and Uther had ordered a council meeting in an hour." She left.

I groaned as I went to get dressed. Looks like my hopes for going back to sleep were non-existent. It only took me about ten minutes to get ready, despite the fact I had no maid. Uther had offered me one on countless occasions, but I refused each time. I didn't like the idea of having someone work for me. But if I _were_ to have a maid, I'd like it to be like how it was with Morgana and Gwen. They were really good friends and Morgana doesn't treat her badly at all. Not like Arthur does with Merlin.

An hour later, I was sitting in the council chambers, next to Morgana. Arthur was on the other side of the throne where Uther sat. As the door opened, the king rose from his seat.

"Lady Catrina," I said in disbelief. "Is it really you?"

A beautiful woman glided gracefully across the room towards Uther. Behind her, a rather ugly and disgusting looking man trailed along. "I can hardly believe it myself," the woman, Catrina, whispered, sounding just like any other Lady would (other than myself, I hope).

"We had tidings from the north that the House of Tregor had fallen to invaders," Uther said. That was true. I remembered 'accidentally' overhearing a meeting the other day. Apparently, they found no survivors. So how did this woman get away?

"All that you heard was true, My Lord, and worse."

He looked worried. "Your father, the King?"

"Gone, Sire. The enemy attacked without warning. We were outnumbered five to one. He could not endure. I would never have survived had it not been for my faithful servant Jonas." she gestured behind her as the king gave a nod of approval. "But we did survive, and we have made it this far-" she stopped and began to fall to the floor. Uther swooped in and caught her. I exchanged glances with Merlin and we both had to stop ourselves from bursting out laughing.

"Forgive me, My Lord," Catrina stammered. "I fear my trials have taken a toll."

Uther looked genuinely concerned, something I had never seen cross his face before. "Your sufferings are beyond imagining, My Lady. It would be an honour to help you in any way we can."

"A bed for the night would be most welcome."

Ugh. Her voice grated on me. I got the feeling she was one of those spoiled women who expected people to wait on her every need.

"And consider yourselves our esteemed guests. It's the least we can do," he smiled.

"Thank you."

The meeting was called to a close and I immediately left. I headed to catch up with Gaius and Merlin. Merlin was called away by Arthur the second I got there. I turned to Gaius, who was looking confused. "What's up?" I asked.

"Nothing."

I gave him a look. "Gaius."

"It's the Lady Catrina."

"What about her. Is she evil?"

"What? No, of course not. Where did you get that idea from?"

I shrugged. "Just a guess. Usually when some random person comes to Camelot, some weird and pretty evil stuff goes down."

"It's just," he started. "Well, I knew Lady Catrina as a child. And back then, she had an incurable bone disease that affects the joints and prevents her from walking properly."

I thought about how I'd seen her in the council room. Apart from her almost falling, she walked fine. "She doesn't look like she has a bone disease."

"Exactly. I'm going to go try to figure it out. I'll see you later."

"Bye then," I said as I caught said of Merlin leading Catrina and Jonas to a room. "Merlin," I called in a high pitched, singsong voice.

"Hello, My Lady." He said politely, as though we had never met. I gave him a light slap on the head for calling me 'My Lady'. He knew how much I hated that.

I turned to Catrina and put on my best royal voice. "Lady Catrina. It's so nice to meet you and it's an honour to have you staying in Camelot."

She smiled at me. "Lady Adelia, I presume. I have heard little about you, not as much as I have of your sister." I snorted in disgust. Of course, Uther would talk more about Morgana than me.

"Well anyway," Merlin said, opening a door. "Here are your guest chambers. I'm sorry it's not quite what you're used to."

"Forgive me, but I didn't get your name." Catrina said sweetly.

"Merlin," he replied hastily, clearly taken in by her.

She gave what I thought to be a very fake smile. "Well, Merlin, considering we spent last night in a cave, this will do very nicely. Thank you."

He looked giddy. "Well, if you need anything, just ask. My master's chambers are only upstairs."

The scruffy little servant, Jonas, looked at him. "My mistress and I could not be more grateful for the kindness you've shown us." He had an unpleasant throaty voice. It seemed like everything about this man repulsed me.

Merlin didn't care about that. "You're welcome."

They disappeared into the room, and me and Merlin walked of. "Be careful, Merlin," I warned him.

"Be careful about what?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"Catrina," I replied. "I don't have to remind you about the last time you were taken in by some random woman who arrived at Camelot."

"Yeah, you kind of do. What happened the last time I was taken in by some random woman who arrived at Camelot," he pondered, mimicking my words.

"You were poisoned," I said bluntly. He had told me the story about Nimueh pretending to be a servant then tricking him into drinking a poisoned drink.

"Yeah, yeah. Fine. But I'm not taken in by her, I swear."

I gave a tinkling laugh. "If you say so." I skipped off down the hall, leaving him standing on his own, looking like an idiot. Passing by in front of me, I spotted my sister.

"Mor-or-or-or-gana," I called, suddenly feeling very happy.

She turned to face me. Immediately she said, "Can we talk?"

"Sure." Magic talk. Good, good. Hopefully after this, we would go back to being happy sisters.

"So what do you think of this Lady Catrina?" she asked me, trying to keep the conversation light.

"She sounds like a spoiled brat, to me."

Morgana looked at me in surprise. "Really? I think she's the exact opposite of that."

I shrugged. "I don't know. There's just something about her that makes me uneasy. You know that feeling that you get? When something's just not quite right? Well that's what I'm feeling."

"Hmm. I don't see that. I think she's alright."

"If you say so. I just think that maybe we should watch out."

"What for?"

"I don't know. Something."

"Ok," she said, dropping the subject to move onto the main point. "So…can we talk about the magic now?" she asked quietly.

"Fine. Let's get back to your chambers so no one hears us." We walked swiftly back to her chambers. Morgana sat on her bed and stared at me.

"Can you help me?"

I frowned. "With what?"

"With my magic. Help me understand it. I mean, how did you get through it?"

I sat down on the floor, legs crossed, looking up at her. "I guess I didn't really," I started. "The main thing is not to be frightened. The more scared you are the more things like the candle will happen. And the same with the dreams. Soon you will realise that the dreams are a way of preparing you for what is to come. Being a seer is a rare gift, and you should be thankful for it. You need to learn how to control your magic. If you want, you can borrow some of my books, and study some spells."

"Study?" she spat in disgust.

"Well…yeah. It's better to study it so you can control it easier." I held up my hand before she could start yelling. "Stop. Don't get all freaked because you don't want to study it. Trust me. It'll _help_ you."

For a while, she said nothing. "Ok," she whispered in a small voice. "Go get the books."

"What? Now?" I asked with curiosity. I assumed that if she _did_ agree, she'd avoid it for as long as possible.

She nods. "Yes. You're right. I need to start learning. And I better do it now before I change my mind." She gestures for me to leave to get the books.

I ran down the stairs as fast as I could, receiving strange looks from Arthur, Merlin and Sir Leon, to get the spell books. In my chambers, I grabbed a large bucket, in which to hide them. I took the book with the most simplest spells. It's better to start of easy. I darted back out.

"What's in the bucket?" Arthur called out to me as I passed him.

I shouted the first word that came to my head. "Mice." I only wished it was one that made more sense. Oh well. "Got it," I said, flopping down on Morgana's bed.

"Did I just hear you shout out 'mice'?" she asked.

"Maybe."

"Ok, whatever. Where do we start?"

I flipped through the pages. "Ok, here." I pointed to a page with a simple telekinesis spell.

We made good progress that day. Morgana was learning quickly, a lot quicker than I had. By the time the king ordered us for dinner, she was able to move any smallish objects for a long distance and could conjure a medium size flame with a whisper. Despite doing well with her spells, Morgana was still uneasy about the whole magic affair.

"Stop worrying," I reassured her as we headed to the council dining chambers . "He won't find out." She was scared that Uther would find out.

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely," I said. She smiled at me, giving be a quick hug before we went to meet Uther and Arthur. Our smiles dropped when we entered the room. As usual, Uther was sitting at the head of the table, and Arthur to the side of him. To the other side however, sat the Lady Catrina. Uther was leaned in, talking to her while completely ignoring Arthur.

"Morgana. Adelia," he said, looking up at our arrival. "So glad you could join us. Come, sit, please." He gestured to the seats beside Arthur at Catrina. Arthur looked relieved that we were here. I quickly ran to sit beside him, not really wanting to sit beside Catrina. Morgana scowled at me as she took her seat.

"I trust you're having a pleasant stay," Uther said, turning back to Catrina.

She smiled. "Yes, it has been wonderful. Thank you."

"And are your chambers to your liking?"

"Yes. We are most grateful."

I rolled me eyes, looking at Arthur. He laughed. It would seem as though he was not very charmed by her either. I didn't know how long Arthur had been sitting here until we came, but it must have been torture.

He leaned in towards me so Uther couldn't hear. "Never leave me alone with those two again."

I gave him a playful nudge. I was sad that he didn't know that we were actually related. He acted as if he was my brother though, so that was good enough. Me, Morgana and Arthur spent the next hour whispering quietly to each other whilst Uther and Catrina talked.

"This is wonderful, thank you," Catrina said in a sickly sweet voice.

"It's an honour. The Houses of Tregor and Pendragon have been allies for as...well, as long as anyone can remember." Uther replied. I had met a Tregor once. Tom Tregor. He had escaped from his kingdom after being falsely accused of murdering the Prince. Catrina's father was going to execute him. Tom was the king's nephew. Did _any_ king have a heart?

"My father often spoke of you, My Lord."

"And I will remember him always."

Arthur finally decided to say something. "I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to meet him."

They both jumped and looked at us. Evidently, they had forgotten we were here. "I'm sorry too," Catrina said, looking slightly annoyed that he had interrupted them. "For the House of Tregor is no more."

"Well, no, Catrina. It lives on in you." Uther said, dragging her attention back to him.

"I only wish that were true."

"It is, My Lady. Your courage, your modesty. And you are as you always were, ever since you were a child."

"Ah, I fear I am much changed since then, my Lord."

"Oh, yes, it's true. You are far more beautiful now." Uther said quietly. I made a disgusted face, which made Morgana laugh. Uther was looking at Catrina as though she was the only thing in this world right now. She looked just as entranced by him.

I gave a sidelong glance at Arthur. By the look on his face, I don't think he would appreciate a budding new romance between his father and this woman. He spoke up quickly before anything else could happen. "I'm sorry, hard day's training. If you'll excuse me."

"Of course." Catrina called after him, grateful he was leaving.

"Arthur." Uther nodded at his son who got up and left as fast as he possible could without it looking like he wanted to get away.

Catrina glared at Morgana and myself.

Talking the hint, Morgana said, "I should retire myself." She stood up. "Adelia? Are you coming?"

"Oh god, yes," I said, making no effort to hide my happiness at a chance to leave. Uther gave me a funny look. I glared at him as if to say, "What's your problem"

Once outside, me and Morgana burst out laughing. Ahead of us, Arthur turned round. He waited for us to catch up.

"That was _painful_," he moaned. "Why do you find this so funny?"

"Because it's hilarious! Uther. Ha," I laughed.

"It's because it's Uther. The one who is heartless and…well, you know," Morgana said.

"What do you think Arthur?" I asked, nudging him. "Do you like the idea of Uther and Catrina? Maybe you could have a new stepmother."

Arthur grimaced. "Ugh, please, don't. Not a nice image. You'd feel differently about this if you were me. He isn't _your _father."

"That's what you think," I whispered under my breath.

"What?" He asked. Oops.

"Nothing," I said lamely. I dragged Morgana away before I could slip up again. Slowly, my smile began to disappear.

Morgana looked at me. "You still think there is something off about her?"

"Yep. But I'm not sure what it is." I spotted Merlin heading back to his chambers. "Em, I'll be right back. I need to speak to Merlin." I ran off. "Hey," I called.

Merlin waited for me to catch up. In his hand, there was a small bottle. "What's that?" I asked.

"Gaius asked me to give this to the Lady Catrina. He said that she would know what it was for. But she had no clue."

"Huh," I said, pondering it. Then I realised. This must have been a potion for that bone thing that Gaius had mentioned. If she didn't know what it was, then maybe there _was_ something that she wasn't telling us. "I think I know what this is about. I'm coming with you. I want to know what Gaius thinks."

Merlin agreed and we walked off towards Gaius' chambers. When we arrived, Gaius was sitting at the table, studying a book. Merlin walked up and slammed the bottle down. "She didn't ask for it," he said. "She didn't need it. She didn't even _want_ it."

Gaius set his book down. "Interesting."

Merlin looked confused. "If you say so."

He began to explain to Merlin what he had told me this morning. "When I treated her as a child, it was for an incurable disease. Catrina had a rare bone disorder affecting her joints. She often had difficulty walking, especially after a long ride. My tonic was the only thing that brought her relief."

"She walks as well as you or I," Merlin frowned.

"So I noticed."

"So the tonic was some kind of test?"

Gaius looked back down at the table. "Indeed. And I'm starting to wonder if the Lady Catrina is really the Lady Catrina at all."

I knew it! I looked at Merlin, who was looking shocked. "I told you to be careful." I said to him. "Try and figure out who she is, Gaius. I'd better get to bed. Night."

"Goodnight, My Lady," Gaius called out behind me as I left.

I walked back to my chambers, my head spinning. So, something was up with Catrina. We don't think she is who she says she is. And she is planning something with Uther? It must be that. But what does she want with him? I'm not sure when I drifted off to sleep that night but I knew it was at least an hour after I had gotten into bed. There were too many questions in my head that needed answers. Sleep must have found me eventually because the next thing I remember is hearing the clapping of hooves against the concrete of the courtyard.

I rushed to my window, expecting to see Arthur and the knights heading off, but instead saw Uther and Catrina preparing for a ride. Uther had a picnic basket in one head, which caused Catrina to make a look of fake enthusiasm. I wonder what they were up to. Well, a picnic obviously. But _why_? I watched as they rode off into the distance. I stood at the window for a while, staring into nothing. Catrina wanted something from Uther. To do that, she had to get close to him. He was falling for it and is taking her away for a picnic. Ok, I have literally no idea. I was snapped out of my thoughts by a noise behind me. Merlin rushed into my chambers, slamming the door. He leaned back against it, out of breath, eyes wide.

I looked at him. "I'm ever so sorry Merlin, but I believe you've got the wrong room."

He shivered. "That was strange."

"What was?"

"I was just in the guest chambers Catrina is staying in."

I rushed over to him. He had news? "What?"

"It smelt weird," he started. "Her bed looked like it hadn't been slept in. But that's not the weirdest thing."

"What? Tell me, dammit."

"Jonas. Had a tail."

I froze. That, I was _not_ expecting. "A tail?" I asked in disbelief.

He nodded. "Yep. It was green, long, forked and just plain _horrible_." I stood there for a moment, saying nothing. "Got to go," he called suddenly, rushing out the door.

"No wait," I yelled after him. "You can't just say that then leave. What else did you find out? Merlin? Merlin!" He had already left, leaving me shouting at an empty room like an idiot. Jonas had a tail? A goddamn tail.

Later that day, I went down to find Arthur and Merlin in the main square when Uther and Catrina arrived back. Uther leapt off his horse then went to go help Catrina.

"Honestly, look at them," grumbled Arthur.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd how quickly they've become close?" Merlin asked, trying to get him onto our side.

Arthur, of course, was oblivious. "There's nothing odd about that. My father's a wealthy and powerful man."

I tried to help. "Yes, but he had never been like this before. What's changed?"

"Nothing's changed. And I hope you're not trying to suggest something."

"No. Not at all," I said innocently.

"Good." He stormed off past me.

I turned to Merlin. "Why is he so clueless?"

"He's always like this. I tell him something, he doesn't believe me, then I turn out to be right."

"This sounds like it'll be no different," I said.

"Yep," he agreed. "I just hope we figure out what she's up to soon so we can stop her. Why don't we try to see what she's doing? If we angle a mirror properly, we can see into the guest chambers from Arthur's room. I'll come and find you later when Arthur's asleep."

"Ok."

I had fallen asleep by the time Merlin eventually knocked on my door.

"Hmm?" I asked, clueless.

"Let's go," he said.

"Where?"

"Arthur's room. Remember?"

"Em. Oh yeah. Ok." We walked off down the corridor. "So, what do you actually expect to see?"

Merlin shrugged. "I don't know. Magic of some kind?"

"I guess." We reached Arthur's chambers and I slowly opened the door, so as not to wake him. Creeping in, my eyes swept the room, looking for a mirror. "There," I whispered, pointing. We crept past a sleeping Arthur, reaching the window. Raising my hand to the mirror, I used the quietest possible voice I could to enchant it, "Sceawere folge min bebod." The mirror lifted up and followed my hand out of the window. I took a few minutes but eventually I managed to angle it to the right position to see into Catrina's bedroom. What was that I was looking at? It was horrible and brown and _moving_. I squinted, trying to get a better look. I gasped sharply. That was a troll. A horrifically disgusting, ugly, fat _troll_. I dropped the mirror but Merlin was quick to catch it. I turned to him. "Catrina's a troll," I hissed frantically. Merlin gave me a bewildered look and took his turn to stare into the window. At that moment, Arthur began to stir. I whacked Merlin on the shoulder and dived behind the screen. Unfortunately, Merlin was too shocked by the troll that he didn't notice.

"Merlin," Arthur said calmly. Merlin whipped round. I heard the mirror smash below. Arthur continued to stare at him. "I have no doubt, Merlin, that you have prepared a very good explanation for this."

"Yes. No. Er…" he faltered, spinning his head in every direction, trying to figure out where I had disappeared to and what the hell he had just seen in the window.

"Apparently I'm wrong," Arthur said. I had no idea why I was finding this so funny, but I had to stifle a laugh. I watched as Arthur barged past Merlin, and over to the window. Merlin held his breath as Arthur peered outside, seeing the mirror smashed on the ground below. He pulled his head back and fixed his eyes on Merlin. "Please don't tell me you were just spying on Lady Catrina."

Merlin gave a slight shake of his head, doing some fast thinking. It didn't work. "It's not what it seems."

"Yes, Merlin. It's exactly what it seems. You have led a sheltered life, you have no social skills whatsoever, and Catrina is, I admit, an attractive woman. I understand completely. And if I ever find you doing it again, I'll feed you to the dogs. Do I make myself clear?" Arthur told him, with a slightly cheerful tone. Hearing him call Catrina attractive after what we had just seen was hilarious. Apparently, Merlin thought so to.

"Yes, absolutely sire," he snickered, edged his way out of the room. Arthur rolled his eyes and collapsed back onto his bed.

I let out a soft sigh of relief and counted to thirty before crawling out of the room. Once I got out, I ran as fast as I could back to my chambers, my mind back on trolls. My last thought before I got to sleep was how much was Camelot in danger? What did this thing want? It wanted something off Uther and needed to get close to him to do it.

The next day I was wandering about the courtyard looking for Merlin. "What did Gaius say?" I asked when I found him.

"He said that troll are greedy and want wealth and power. So basically, she's trying to get her hands on Uther's wealth and power. And now Gaius thinks he will be able to tell Uther that Catrina's a troll."

"Huh. I get the feeling that's not going to go down well."

Right on cue, Gaius walked over to us.

"How'd it go?" Merlin asked.

"Not well," he replied. "He got very angry and warned me never to speak of her that way again or he, in his words, 'will indeed do something rash'"

"Ok, so we need to think of some other way to sort this." I said.

"Yep." Merlin was smiling at Gaius.

"If you're going to say 'I told you so'-"

"I wasn't going to," Merlin cut him off. "Ok, I was. But I won't anymore. But I told you-sorry."

"But I know Uther. He's a proud man, but he's not stupid. He will reflect on what I said, I'm sure he will."

"Let's hope you're right," I said, walking off. He was right about one thing. Uther wasn't stupid. But he was blinded by Catrina. And I've got the feeling that Catrina will stop at nothing until she has Uther right where she wants him. I headed back into the castle. The irritating thing about Camelot is that there isn't an incredible amount to do. So, I went off in search of Morgana, thinking I could maybe teach her a bit more magic.

Later in the day, I decided to go to the physician's chambers to see if there was an update on the troll.

"It's no good, Merlin. I can tell him she's a troll until I'm blue in the face, he simply won't listen. He sees a charming, beautiful woman." Gaius was saying.

Merlin snorted. "Yeah, with a body like a tree trunk."

"But you only know that because you and Adelia saw her I troll form."

"So what do we do?" I asked walking in, closing the door behind me.

Gaius turned to me. "We must open Uther's eyes, show her for what she really is"

"Using magic?" Merlin asked.

"It's the only way to reveal her true form."

"But she never leaves his side," I pointed out.

"I know." Gaius looked at us hopefully.

"You want us to use magic in front of the King?" Merlin said doubtfully.

"Yes, Merlin, I do."

"We-we'd never get away with it."

"I'm sorry, Merlin. I know how dangerous this is, but we cannot allow it to gain any further control over the King. Who knows what the consequences might be?"

"Just one problem. I know nothing about troll magic," Merlin said. He looked at me. "Do you?" I shook my head.

"Then we have work to do," Gaius said, grabbing as many books as he could off the shelves. We sat round the table and got to work, trying to find anything that could help us show her for what she really is.

"Here!" Merlin yelled out suddenly, jerking Gaius out of his slumber. "The spell of revelation. By which the true nature of the thing may be revealed."

Gaius raised his head. "But this applies only to objects, things, not living creatures."

"I know," Merlin said. "The principle's the same, isn't it? What other choice do we have?"

"Very well," he nodded. " But choose your moment carefully. Trolls are vicious creatures."

A moment later, someone knocked at the door.

"Come in," called Gaius.

Sir Leon entered the room. "Gaius. My Lady. The King requests your presence in the council chambers."

The three of us stood up, even though he never said anything about Merlin.

We got to the council chambers, which was crowded with people, and I took my usual seat next to Morgana. Soon after, the great doors opened and Uther walked in, Lady Catrina on his arm. I stared at her. All I could see when I looked at her was the image of this troll we'd seen. How was she managing to act so…queenly?

They walked to the front and turned to face the crowd. Uther spoke boldly, "Thank you all for coming. You are, no doubt, wondering why I have gathered you here today. Though we live in dark times, today I bring you light, and love. It gives me greatest pleasure to inform you that the Houses of Tregor and Pendragon are to be united in the closest bond of all. I am to marry Lady Catrina of Tregor. I am to marry Lady Catrina tomorrow. This union heralds a new dawn for the kingdom, a new beginning and a new queen for all here in Camelot," he rambled on and on, but I stopped listening.

Queen? That's what she wanted. To become queen. Wealth. Power. All she wants. I looked over at Merlin's direction, but he was busy focusing on Catrina. He was using magic, I realised. I watched his lips moving as he cast the spell. Again. And again. Now I looked at Catrina, whose fake smile had dropped. It was working, I could tell. She pulled back the sleeve, staring at something on her arm. A panicked look crossed her face.

"I hope you will share in our joy," Uther finished. The room broke out in applause. "Thank you." Everyone began to empty out the council chamber, Catrina ahead of them all, looking terrified.

"Any thoughts?" I asked Morgana.

"Well, I'm happy for them," she said, "but I'm also confused. It's not like him to do something this rash."

"That's what I'm thinking. Strange behaviour, this is."

She looked at me. "What's on your mind, Adelia? Still suspicious about her?"

"Oh, I'm not suspicious," I told her. "I _know_ what it is."

"What is it?" she asked.

"You're going to think I'm joking but I'm not. She's a troll." I stood up and headed for the door.

"Wait, what? Adelia!" she called after me.

I ran off and bumped into Merlin. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"To tell Arthur she's a troll. You wanna come with?"

I stared at him blankly. "Yeah." We headed to Arthur's chambers.

"Yes?" he asked us as we approached him.

"Arthur," Merlin started. "We're going to tell you something. It's not going to be easy."

"Right," he said, looking at us expectantly.

"It's about the Lady Catrina," I joined in.

He looked at Merlin in disgust. "You're not using my chambers to spy on her again."

I snorted, earning me an elbow in the ribs from Merlin while he was saying, "Oh no. Trust me. I saw everything I needed to see." This made me laugh more. That probably wasn't the best thing to say.

"I'm sure you did," Arthur said.

"Arthur," I continued, before Merlin could say anything. "She's a troll."

He burst out laughing. "She's not that bad."

"We're serious. She is. She's an actual troll." Merlin said.

"Look, I know what you're trying to do, and I appreciate it. But it's not about whether I like her or not, it's about what makes my father happy. And when they announced the wedding today, I realised that Lady Catrina does just that. She makes him happy."

"Well he won't be so damn happy when he realises his wife is a fruit-munching monster-"

"That's enough, Merlin," Arthur cut him off.

"But-"

"She's the future queen of Camelot whether you like it or not. So you better get used to it."

Merlin recognised the dismissive tone and left.

I turned to him. "We are telling the truth. Do you know how many times he has warned you about something and you don't listen. How many of those times did he turn out to be right? Believe what you want. But we tried to warn you." I left, running to catch up with Merlin.

"She is a cruel, wicked creature," a voice said. I turned he corned to find Merlin talked to Jonas. "She keeps me in chains. She hurts me. Her magic, I-I can't escape it. She twists my mind as she is twisting the mind of your king."

"Why are you telling me this?" Merlin asked.

"I can help you," Jonas whispered.

"How?"

"Below the castle, where she sleeps, she keeps her potions there. Every night she must take these potions, it is the magic that transforms her from beast to beauty. If you were to take these from her, she must remain as a beast, and then your King would not be so keen, I think."

"Tell me, Jonas, why should I believe any of this?"

"You must do as you think fit, Master Merlin, but if my mistress is not stopped, by morning she will be queen." He staggered off.

"We _need_ to get that potion," I said to Merlin.

"How do we do that without her actually noticing?"

"Em," I thought. "Ooh. Get Gaius to make a fake one."

"Good idea." He ran off.

"Where you going?" I called after him.

"To find this place where she sleeps."

"Merlin. I'm not sure that's wise. I don't trust Jonas. Merlin!"

The next day, I found Gaius wandering the corridors. "My Lady. Have you seen Merlin recently?"

"No, not since yesterday. He said he was going to try and get the potion from some place underneath the castle where the troll sleeps."

"That doesn't sound good. He needs to do something quick. The wedding is in a half hour. Speaking of which, we better head to the throne room."

As we walked, I worried about Merlin. If he's been gone all night, he must have run into a problem. I hoped he'd be able to get here in time for the wedding. If not, the troll will take control of Camelot.

When I entered the throne room, there was no one sitting or standing at the front. Instead, everyone was lined up facing the front with a gap down the middle. I took my place in the front row next to Morgana, an empty space next to me which must be for Arthur. Gaius and I must have arrived just in time because a moment later, the great doors opened. Uther and Arthur strolled slowly up the aisle, smiling at the crowd. When they reached the front, Arthur took his place beside me. The doors opened again and Catrina walked through, looking graceful. It was hard to believe that this woman, this thing, was a troll. She continued to walk. My face now hurt from fake smiling. Now, Uther and Catrina stood facing each other.

_Come on, Merlin._

Geoffrey, the court genealogist, stood up.

_Please, Merlin._

"My lords, ladies, and gentlemen of Camelot, we are gathered here today to celebrate, by the ancient right of handfasting, the union of Uther Pendragon and Lady Catrina of Tregor."

_Please, please hurry._

"Is it your wish, Uther, to become one with this woman?"

"It is," Uther said, his eyes fixed on Catrina's.

_Quickly!_

"Is it your wish, Catrina, to become with this man?"

"It is,"

_NOW, MERLIN!_

"Do any say nay?" Geoffrey asked the crowd. I held my breath, hoping someone would speak up.

_Now would be a great time, Merlin_.

He held up a garland. "With this garland, I do tie knot, and by doing so, bind your hands and your hearts for all eternity."

_COME ON!_

"I, Uther Pendragon, King of Camelot, I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee as I respect myself."

_Oh no. Please. Please. Please._

"I, Lady Carina of Tregor, I shall not seek to change thee in any way, I shall respect thee as I respect myself."

_MERLIN!_

"I know pronounce you to be, husband and wife," Geoffrey declared.

_NOOOOOOO!_

Uther and Catrina leaned in to kiss. Just a few seconds to late, Merlin burst in the room. Catrina looked at him and scowls, before turning back, now with a genuine smile on her face, knowing she has what she wanted. No one notices this, however, as they were all staring at the front, their eyes focused on the happy couple…


End file.
